


Libri Numquam Obliviscunt

by xMidnightsLullaby



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Books, Flirting, M/M, Memories, Missing, bookstore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 08:07:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20336854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xMidnightsLullaby/pseuds/xMidnightsLullaby
Summary: Years after the war at Hogwarts, Harry steps into a new book store in Diagon Alley to get a book for Hermione. He has no intention of staying there longer than he needs to, but he finds himself returning there a lot more often than he had expected, because the owner is somebody who he hasn't seen in years. Somebody he shares special memories with - memories that will never be forgotten by the books that surrounded them.Drarry Book Shop AU





	Libri Numquam Obliviscunt

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Drarry by Danasauurr](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/510736) by Danasauurr. 

_‚Please, Harry. They don’t have that book in the Ministry library and I need it. Please, get it for me.’_

Hermione’s words echoed in Harry’s head when he walked down Diagon Alley. As if he had time to go to a stupid book shop during his precious breaks from work. Harry was in his first year after finishing Auror training and although he loved it, he had to admit that it was a pretty hard job. Besides learning all kinds of new spells and laws, there was a whole lot of paper work to do which had already forced him and Ron to pull more than one all-nighter in the office.

‘But why didn’t she ask her boyfriend?’ Harry wondered until he remembered that Ron was even worse with books than Harry and he would probably forget about it or get the wrong one.

Harry had never been in that shop before. He hadn’t even heard of it until Hermione had explained him that it had opened recently.

‘They have even more books than in Hogwarts. It’s amazing.’

Harry doubted that there was a place that could own more book than the Hogwarts’ library but somehow, Hermione’s words had made him curious.

From the outside, it looked just like a normal store. The window frames were coloured in dark green and a silver, antique lettering above the shop said ‘_Inoblitus_’ – ‘Unforgotten’. For a second, Harry wondered why the owner had chosen that name. Shaking his head, he stepped inside.

He instantly noticed that the shop was enlarged with a spell. There was no way all those shelfs fitted inside the show room he had looked into from outside. Hundreds, no thousands of shelfs were strung together, filled up with books up to the ceiling. Harry wandered through the aisles looking at all different kinds of books. Old, new, colourful or completely tattered. He read titles from ‘_The Magical Cuisine of Papua New Guinea’_ to ‘_The Tales and Songs of Terand Tallwick’_. There were books on every topic Harry could imagine, from historical narrations to encyclopaedias on the anatomy of magical creatures.

As he walked through the shelfs, it really felt like this shop was larger than the library of Hogwarts, if that was even possible. At least, it was possible to get lost, because after what had surely been ten to fifteen minutes, Harry had no idea how to get back to the entrance. He even considered calling for help for a second, but he felt like it would be very embarrassing for an Auror to get lost in a book shop.

“May I help?” a gentle voice made him turn around.

Grey eyes looked at him, examined him curiously. Harry knew these eyes. How often had they looked at him the same way they did now. Eyes he hadn’t seen for years. Eyes he had believed vanished from his life a long time ago.

“If that isn’t the Golden Boy, Mr. Harry Potter, himself,” the voice sneered.

“Draco Malfoy,” Harry whispered in a pugnacious tone.

For a while, they stared at each other until they broke out in laughter. Just when they were able to breathe normally, Harry pulled Draco into his arms, not caring how it must look from outside. It was the first time he felt Draco so close to him. It was the first time they had hugged – not even back then – but it was warm and comfortable and Harry was a little sad he had to let go off him again.

Examining the former Slytherin, Harry noticed the little changes. His hair was a little longer and the war had left first small wrinkles despite his young age. What hadn’t changed, however, was the pride in his eyes, the grace in his movements.

“So… What brings you to my shop? Never expected to meet you here. Granger – yes, but you?”

“It was actually her who sent me here. Guess after all what happened, I’m still not more than an errand boy,” Harry laughed.

“Oh, as much as I heard, you went a lot of other places, Auror Potter.” Malfoy’s voice still carried that condescendingly tone. His smile, however, told a different story. “I’m happy that you could actually get the job you always dreamed of.”

Harry didn’t know why, but he blushed a bit. He hadn’t imagined that Draco would remember that detail he had told him years ago. Unsure of what to do with his hands, he scratched his neck.

“You got lost, didn’t you?”

Blushing even more, the former Gryffindor nodded.

Draco sighed. “You’re hopeless.”

“Is this your shop?” Harry asked as he guided him through the shelf back to the entrance.

“You could say so,” the former Slytherin’s voice shone of pride. “And all these books are mine,” he added, a broad smile on his face, “at least for now.”

“And I assume you have read all of them?” Harry had rather meant this as a mockery, but he was very surprised when Draco answered.

“Most of them actually. I’m a bit late when it comes to the new arrivals.”

“How did you… I mean… There’s surely more than ten thousand books in here!”

“18,327 to be exact. Not counting any duplicates.”

“Do you even sleep?”

“That’s quite a personal question to ask after seeing somebody for the first time in years.”

Harry was caught off guard. “I didn’t…”

“No need to blush. I do sleep if you really want to know. I read a lot of them when I was a child and… let’s say I had a lot of time in the past years to extend my personal library.”

“Still, that’s…”

“Incredible? Astonishing? Don’t hold back, Pot… Harry. Merlin, it’s still odd to call you that way.”

“We could still go back, you know? I wouldn’t mind.”

Draco turned around, looking at him with a deep and intense gaze.

“No. I don’t want to go back. All of that is in the past.”

“Ok.” Harry wasn’t able to say more. He was so captivated by Draco’s eyes that he forgot how to respond. The shop was silent. All the other clients were either lost in the labyrinth of shelves as well or so caught up in their reading that they had stopped breathing. Harry felt like time had stopped ticking, but then the large clock in the back tolled. As if he was rudely awakened, Harry took his head, trying to realise where he was and why.

“Oh damn, I have to hurry, if I want to make it back in time.”

“Tell me what you’re looking for. It would take you ages to look through all the shelfs,” Draco offered politely.

“I need…oh Merlin… It was a long title. Something with elves…”

“Well…that’s not helping much.” Draco sounded extremely amused.

Trying to remember the absolutely ridiculous title, Harry scratched his temples. “I thought I… Oh yes, I wrote it down.” He took a crumpled-up piece of paper from his jeans. “I need ‘_How to train your house-elf – A guide for the modern woman of the 19th century_’.”

Draco smiled broadly. “She’s still into saving all the house-elves?”

Harry sighed. “You have no idea.”

“Alright, follow me.”

Malfoy walked past Harry, down a row of shelfs. Then he turned left, then right, then left again until they stopped in front of a dark brown one. ‘Not for sale’ was inscribed into the wood.

“It’s in our library section. These books are really rare. You could actually buy them, but they cost a small fortune. And it would be a shame if all the wisdom and the stories inside them collect dust in some old collectors private library. That’s why I decided to rent them out for a small fee. Usually, I don’t accept surrogate-borrowing but since you are ‘the Golden Boy’, I might make an exception,” he grinned as he took a thin, faded book from the shelf. “But I must tell you. They’re all charmed. If you forget to hand them back after four weeks, they’ll turn into monsters and start eating up your furniture.”

At first Harry laughed, but then he realised that Draco was serious. “Like the books Hagrid made us buy in third grade?”

A mysterious smile appeared on Draco lips. “Let’s say, I was inspired by them. I wouldn’t recommend trying it out though.”

Harry raised his eyebrow, but he decided it was better not to know any details.

“That makes 3 sickles. And I need a signature here,” Draco pointed to a card he took out of the book where two other wizards had already indicated their name, probably former borrowers. “I guess you’re still used to sign autographs?”

Rolling his eyes, Harry signed the paper and Malfoy handed him the book, wrapped in a small bag. It was dark green and the name of the shop was written on it in silver letters.

“Thanks, Draco.”

“You’re welcome.” For a moment they just looked at each other and Harry nearly forgot that he had to return back to work. It was Draco who was able to break free from the spell first. “Guess I see you in four weeks.”

_“What are you doing here, Potter? Done talking to snakes for today?”_

_Harry looked up. He wouldn’t have needed to, though. That sneering voice, he would recognise everywhere._

_“Don’t you have anything better to do than annoying me?”_

_“Oh, I’m sorry, did I disrupt you from your research on how to actually kill mudbloods? You haven’t been successful, have you? But what did I expect from you anyways.”_

_Harry had a hard time redirecting his gaze back to the book in front of him and not to punch Malfoy right into the face. There was a lot of energy piling up inside him since Hermione had been petrified as well, but it wouldn’t help her if he broke Malfoy’s nose. Although it would probably make Ron smile._

_“I’m here to study. If you can’t keep silent, go annoy somebody else.”_

_“Lately, you’re no fun at all, Potter.”_

_Not answering, Harry concentrated on his essay on the 423 possible applications of mandrake juice. For a while, the library was quiet. Harry was sure Malfoy must have left him alone, noticing that he wouldn’t argue with him today when somebody let his books fall onto the table right in front of him._

_“Malfoy, I’m really not in the mood to…”_

_“Shut up, Potter. I’m here to study.”_

_Very much confused, Harry looked up only to find Malfoy sitting on his opposite, opening up his book. The Slytherin started to write onto his parchment, acting like Harry wasn’t there at all. He really had a beautiful handwriting. Elegantly curved, yet clear – a bit too girly for him and definitely not fitting his character._

_“Is something wrong?” Malfoy rose him from his thoughts._

_“No… I…” In lack of an explanation for his starring, Harry decided that it was better to keep his mouth shut and continue working on his homework. _

_For a few hours, they sat like this and Harry even forgot that Malfoy was there, when he suddenly addressed him._

_“I’m sorry by the way. For what happened to that mudb…. To your friend.”_

_“Excuse me?” Harry was sure he had misheard._

_“It’s not that I’m not happy it hit her. Classes are a lot less annoying when you don’t have to hear her voice all the time. But… I must understand that it’s hard for you and weasel and that you worry about her a lot.”_

_Harry was out of words. With an open mouth he starred at Malfoy. Never had he expected him to say something like that – let alone hearing him talk is such a soft tone._

_“But I swear, if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll do the Dark Lord a favour and kill you myself. You heard that?”_

_Still not able to say anything, Harry simply nodded._

_While he was still trying to realise what had just happened, Malfoy packed his books and parchment and got up._

_“Oh and when you visit her next time, tell her that everyone is so dumb, it’s actually boring without her in class.”_

It hadn’t been four weeks when Harry stepped into the ‘_Inoblitus_’ the next time. Not even a whole week had passed.

“Huh? Has she already read the whole book?” Draco looked up from the counter where he had been reading a really thick and rather old looking epos.

“No, I just…”

“Did you miss me?” Draco’s voice was sneering, but he couldn’t hide the hint of happiness that showed in his smile.

“Don’t blame me. Seems like there is not a single person in the Ministry of Magic who dares to tease or fight me.”

“So you came here in hope that I will relieve you from your boring life?”

“Does it bother you?”

“Oh not at all!” Draco got up. “Would you like to have lunch together?”

Harry was a bit surprised by the sudden invitation, yet he was kind of happy about it. “Sounds great.”

“There’s just one customer left, but you can wait in the back if that’s more comfortable for you.”

Harry laughed. “I’m not embarrassed to be seen with you.”

“I wasn’t talking about embarrassment. Rather about your reputation.”

“I guess after saving the whole wizarding world, I might be able to handle a little dirt on my cloak.”

The former Slytherin snorted. “As if I would leave dirt anywhere.”

He closed his book and walked towards the door. He swung his wand and a sign appeared on the door. ‘Closed. I’ll be back in…’ was written on it in elegantly curved letters. Below, a small clock appeared, counting down from 45 minutes.

“But I guess a little dirt might not hurt you, since it’s been pretty quiet around you. At least, since you broke up with that weasel girl.”

Harry sighed. “So you heard about that.”

“Of course. Not like I was particularly interested in you and your life, but it seemed that my social connections that are not sitting in Azkaban thought that I needed to know about that fact.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s not like one can choose their friends. You should know about that better than I.”

Draco turned around and looked at Harry with an expression, the latter couldn’t quite read. “So how come?”

“Excuse me?” Before Harry could have said anything, a young woman stepped out of an aisle, holding a book in her hand.

With one long last glance, Draco examined Harry, before he took one step towards the woman. “I’m sorry. How can I help you?”

“I would like to buy that one.” She handed Draco the book.

“Sure. Oh, ‘_Full moon night on Eris’_. What a great choice! If you’re into soft romances and exceptional lyrical writing, you will love this.”

He walked to the counter and wrapped the book in black wrapping tissue, the shop’s logo printed on it in glittering sliver lines. Then, he put it into a small bag with the same design.

“That’s 15 sickles, please.” The way Draco smiled at his customer made the young woman blush and Harry wondered if he had smiled at him the same way when he had left the shop a few days ago.

After taking the money and handing over the bag, Draco accompanied the woman to the door, sending her out with a “Thank you for your visit. I hope to welcome you again soon” before he locked the door and returned to Harry.

Pointing to the door behind the counter, he smiled at him. “Shall we?”

_“Is this seat taken?” Harry asked the blond haired boy in front of him. Malfoy looked up to him and frowned. Not that Harry actually wanted to sit close to him, but most other seats in the library were already taken. The Slytherin examined him for quite a while and Harry felt so uncomfortable he was nearly about to leave, when Malfoy nodded and turned towards the book in front of him again._

_It was actually nice to work besides Malfoy, he was quiet and didn’t bother Harry with ‘interesting’ information like Hermione nor did he spread his whole stuff over the table like Ron. Just every now and then, he seemed to throw a glance at Harry’s parchment, pointing with his Quill at words or sentences that were wrong or that Harry needed to elaborate on. At first he had been surprised, believing that Malfoy wanted to mock or disturb him, but then he realised that he was actually helping him. So he threw a thankful smile over the table, which Malfoy surly noticed, but decided not to show. _

_That way, they sat in the library for quite some time as more and more people left and returned to their common rooms. At some point in time, Harry had even wondered why Ron and Hermione hadn’t been looking for him, yet they were surely busy playing Wizard’s chess since Hermione still hadn’t given up on her quest to win against Ron just once._

_“How does it feel like?” Malfoy suddenly asked._

_“What?” Harry looked up._

_“Nearly being kissed by a Dementor?” The Slytherin’s voice was just a whisper._

_Harry hesitated. He wasn’t sure whether Malfoy was going to mock him or use what he was about to say to make fun of him later. Yet something in his voice made Harry feel like his question was being asked out of pure curiosity, maybe fear as well._

_“It’s like all the good things that have happened to you are pulled out of your body. There’s nothing left than angst and despair. Like life’s not worth living anymore. Like everything you are, every memory that shaped you is taken away… I guess you can’t imagine how it feels like. Being raised in Malfoy Manor must have been sheltered from any negative experience, hasn’t it?”_

_Much to Harry’s surprise, Malfoy laughed. But not as if he thought that Harry’s words had been funny. No, it was a dark laugh, scornful even._

_“You have no idea, Potter.” Malfoy rested his head on his hand, his face turned away from Harry. “No one has an idea what it means to be me. And I can assure you it’s not as much fun as you think it is. Yes, I never missed anything. I can have whatever I want. But that comes at a high price.”_

_Harry looked at him, as Malfoy’ voice suddenly became very quiet. “Being me means having to be the best at everything. It means following orders without questioning. It means keeping around people you actually hate, because their families follow the same ideals as yours. I means taking care of everything you say, everyone you spent time with, because your father will definitely hear about it. It means I’m not allowed to try things out, because it ‘doesn’t fit for a Malfoy’. It’s not like I have a bad life. But sometimes, I just wish I was muggle-born with parents who are so proud of me that I’m a wizard that everything else wouldn’t matter to them.”_

_For a moment, Harry had no idea what to say. Never had he expected to hear such an honest confession from the Slytherin. Behind his arrogant façade, he had never assumed a person that actually struggled._

_“Malfoy, that’s…”_

_“Stop it. I don’t want compassion from you. I don’t even know why I said that to begin with.”_

_He turned to his book again and Harry decided that it was better to act like nothing had happened as well. They continued to work for quite a while, but then Malfoy closed his book loudly._

_“I do have another question.”_

_“Hm?”_

_“What’s wrong with these books Hagrid made us buy? I thought about it all summer but I just can get to a conclusion. Like what sane person even KNOWS such things exists. I know he’s everything apart from sane, still…I wondered if he bred them himself in his backyard.” He laughed. _

_It was weird, but Harry knew that this laugh didn’t signify that he wanted to insult Hagrid, but rather make fun of the situation. _

_“Well…I would give him credit for that, but… Filch would have killed him if one of those things ‘accidently’ ate Mrs. Norris.”_

_“What a shame. That one time when Hagrid actually has the chance to make to whole school happy by creating a monster that would voluntarily eat that stupid cat, he misses it.”_

_“You don’t like her?”_

_“Like? That beast leaves her fur all over the Slytherin Common Room. Wonder how she gets in there, though. And one time she tried to bite me that bloody thing.”_

_Harry snorted. “You’re really not good with animals, are you?”_

_At first, Malfoy glared at him, but then he burst into laughter as well._

“How has it been for you?” Harry asked, cutting off a piece of his medallion of pork fillet.

Much to his surprise, the door behind the counter had lead to a staircase which had lead up to an apartment above the shop. Sadly, Harry had only been able to dart a short glance into the living room before Draco had lead him into the kitchen. It wasn’t large, just enough for two people to fit onto a small table, but Harry liked it nonetheless. The interior was coloured in light grey, the equipment state-of-the-art.

Draco had offered to cook something fresh, but due to their time pressure – Harry’s lunch break was quite short – they had decided to take something pre-cooked from the fridge which still tasted a lot better than what Harry usual ate, despite being heated up.

“Not easy, but I never expected it to be. After the war, I left England immediately. The Ministry allowed me to do so under the condition of keeping them updated on my whereabouts. I knew that it wouldn’t do any good to stay there as long as my family name was hunted. I visited distant relatives in France who are so oblivious to everything that happens outside the borders that they had no idea about the Dark…Voldemort. But I returned here about half a year ago. The Ministry informed me that they had searched through Malfoy Manor and that I was allowed to move in there again, as if I could do that. I asked one of the Auror’s who was part of the search team what they confiscated, just out of curiosity of course. Merlin’s Beard! That was a long list. But I’m really glad that all this stuff is in safe hands now. That got nothing to do with me anymore.”

“I’m glad you were able to put your past behind you.” Harry paused for a moment, but Draco didn’t reply anything. “And why did you open up a book store?”

“I’ve always loved books. Since I was young, it was the only place where I felt safe, but I guess I don’t need to tell you about that.

Oh no, he didn’t. Harry had never forgotten about it, so as Draco mentioned it, he started recalling those meetings in the library.

“Anyways, I decided to sell Malfoy Manor. But in order to do so, I had to sell everything inside it, too. Much to my surprise I must say, they left a lot of the books. I just couldn’t sell them to some blind buyer who had no understanding of their value. I was and I still am convinced that there’s a right buyer for every single book. And it’s my purpose to find them. It wasn’t easy in the beginning. Who would buy books from a former Death Eater – let alone walking into his shop freely. But after selling some really rare books to members of the magical upper class, people seemed to become less suspicious.”

“Wow…I’m…impressed.”

Draco smiled faintly.

“And are you happy?”

“I guess…”

They stayed silent and Harry felt a little awkward, but at the same time the quiet between them was reminding him of all the hours they had spent in silence in the school library. What was it about Draco that made him so calm, even after the war?

“So what has happened with that Weasley girl?” Draco asked after a while.

“Oh that…” Harry sighed. “It just… didn’t work out.”

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. It was nice while it lasted, but we both realised that we weren’t happy anymore. At least, I wasn’t. But we still talk, so it’s fine.”

“Sounds good.”

“How about you?”

“Hm?”

“Still going out with Pansy?”

Draco burst into laughter so hard, he nearly chocked on his lunch.

“Pansy and I were never dating. Not even in the slightest.”

“Oh, sorry, I thought…”

“I know. You weren’t the only one. Actually, it was kind of my plan behind that. My father was fine with her and I wasn’t bothered by other people, so it was a win-win situation.”

“But you were willingly spent the whole Yule Ball with her.”

“Please don’t remind me. I was only able to survive the night watching you dance. At least that way I was able to laugh every now and then.”

“Ah…how much I missed theses burns,” Harry joint Draco’s laughter. “Yet…there’s something you said back then which I still don’t understand.”

“You actually remember something I said when we were fourteen? I’m flattered.”

“Of course you are, since there’s no one else to flatter you besides me.”

Draco only raised his eyebrow.

“When you encouraged me to ask someone out for the ball, you said you and your squad of idiots would only mock me for my bad taste and not for whom I chose. What did you mean by that?”

“Of all the things, you remember that.” Draco smiled sadly and turned away from Harry, ruffling through his hair as if he was nervous. “See… I…”

“Shit…” Harry got up so fast, his chair nearly fell turned over. “I completely forgot the time. I’m going to be late. I’m so sorry for leaving on such a hurry. Thanks for the lunch. I’ll return the favour. Bye.” And without throwing a last glance on Draco’s slightly blushed face, Harry jumped down the stairs.

_“Already enough from your so-called fans? Wonder how much you had to pay them, though.” Malfoy let himself fall onto the ground right next to Harry who had ended up in back of the school library after running away from people asking him questions about the Tournament._

_“I’m sorry that my survival of the dragon disappointed you.” _

_Malfoy smiled but than his expression changed soon. “How do you handle everything?”_

_Through the past year their meetings in the library had become more or less the usual. Harry even dared to think sometimes that they had become something like friends, although he knew it was ridiculous. Yet, it was nice to talk to each other in quiet. Surely, they still mocked each other, but Harry noticed the difference from when they met outside where they had to keep up a certain image. _

_“It’s okay, I guess… It’s a bit better since Ron started talking to me again, but it would be even better if that Rita Skeeter would finally stop writing such nonsense about me.”_

_Malfoy laughed. “Oh, I find her articles quite amusing.”_

_“I thought so.”_

_“I did a scrap book of them. I can show you, if you want to.”_

_Harry raised his eyebrow. “You don’t want to tell me, you actually sit down, cut them out by hand and glue them into a scrap book.”_

_“Of course, I did. And the others help me decorating it. It’s our favourite evening activity since there’s no Quidditch this year.”_

_Harry decided to not go deeper into the Rita Skeeter topic. “Yes, it’s a shame. I really miss it, too.”_

_“It’s like the third year in a row where we don’t have a smooth season. Every year, something happens. That’s irritating. At first, it’s the ‘Heir of Slytherin’, then Sirius Black and now that bloody Tournament. I mean, it’s nice to watch you trying not to die, but I really miss flying myself.”_

_“Well, if you look back on my luck with Quidditch, it’s pretty much the same.” Harry said after thinking for a moment._

_Malfoy burst into laughter. “That’s true. Boy, is there anything you can do without hurting yourself?”_

_“I guess not.”_

_“Speaking of dying, have you found somebody for the Yule Ball. Heard you want to make a solo performance?”_

_“Don’t remind me, please…” Harry frowned._

_“I already have a partner,” Malfoy boasted._

_“I thought so.”_

_“Oh come on Potter, you survived a dragon chasing you over the whole school ground. You’ll at least manage to ask a girl out. Or do you rather fancy a guy? I won’t judge.”_

_“You would judge if your so-called friends are next to you.”_

_A contrite expression hushed over the Malfoy’s face. He knew by now that Harry disapproved his behaviour around the other Slytherins, although the Gryffindor understood his reasons. “I know… But if you were to ask a guy I would rather tease you for your choice or him for his bad taste, the others know that I…”_

_“They know what?” Now, Harry’s curiosity was roused._

_“Well, I…” Malfoy started, but stopped when they heard voices coming towards them._

_“I guess it’s time.” He got up and nearly vanished behind a shelf when he turned around again._

_“And now ask them! Nothing’s more pitiful than going alone.”_

Two weeks had passed since Harry and Draco had lunch together and finally, Harry was standing in front of the shop again. Work had kept him busy, so they had been forced to postpone their next meeting until today. When Harry had said that he would return the favour, he had thought about inviting Draco out for dinner. The former Slytherin, however, had proposed to cook for them again, since meeting in public would ‘surely be troublesome’ as he had stated in his letter. Harry had accepted his invitation gladly. Draco’s apartment – or at least his kitchen – was quite comfortable and a lot more private than a restaurant. The only condition Draco had imposed was that Harry had to take care of the wine. It had been truly difficult to ask Hermione for help without revealing why he needed her expertise, but after a while she had accepted that he wouldn’t say who he was meeting and had told him to get a special bottle of a white wine of which Harry had already forgotten the name of.

From the inside, warm candle light was shining through the windows and suddenly, Harry became really nervous. He was there a bit too early, but he hadn’t been able to sit on his couch and simply wait. Hopefully, Draco wouldn’t mind. Tightening his grip around the bottle, he took a deep breath and stepped through the door. The ring of the bell pervaded the air. It took only a few moments before Draco appeared between two shelves.

“Good evening. How can I… Oh, Harry!” His smile widened. “You’re too early.”

“I’m sorry. I hope I don’t cause you any inconvenience.”

“No, not at all. But I’m afraid I still have to sort and shelve the latest delivery.”

Draco walked closer to Harry and the Auror noted that he was looking great tonight – more than usual. The former Slytherin wore a light grey shirt and a dark grey waistcoat that emphasised his slender waist and tall figure.

“Speechless?” Draco grinned and took another step towards Harry. With his eyes, he fixated the former Gryffindor who was neither able to say anything nor move. They were just so captivating while examining his soul so closely that he even forgot that they were still standing in the middle of the shop, visible for any customer or passer-by.

Then, his gaze wandered down to Harry’s hand and his expression changed. “Oh,” he took the bottle out of Harry’s hand, “what a great choice. I love Chardonnay. I better chill it.”

He took his wand out of his waistcoat pocked and swung it. Like carried by invisible hands, the bottle glided through the air, through the door behind the counter and up the stairs.

As if that moment before hadn’t happened, Draco turned around walking to the shelf he had been sorting in books before Harry had entered the shop. The Auror, however, was still frozen, overwhelmed by how fast his heart was beating just because Draco had been standing so close to him. He had felt like that before. Well, not completely that way. He had noted earlier that his heart was beating faster when Draco was close to him, but he had always believed that it was because of the thrill of their fights.

“Although you are quite decorative, I’m not sure if a pillar of salt matches the corporate design of my store,” Draco sneered, finally hitting a nerve inside Harry that made him step out of his paralysis.

“You just wouldn’t be able to stand my beauty outshining that lousy books of yours. People wouldn’t come here to buy but see me.”

“If you need attention that much, I guess I could hire you as a temp.”

“You won’t be able to afford me,” Harry grinned. He couldn’t express how much he had missed their clashes.

A glimpse appeared in Draco’s eyes. “Never thought you were venal. But don’t worry, I still own my family’s fortune. Not sure if I want to spend it on you, though.”

“Hey! I’m totally worth my price!”

“Then show me and help me sorting the books or we won’t have dinner until tomorrow.”

“Ok. Ok.”

For the next half an hour, they sorted new books into the shelfs or rearranged the old ones. Harry had no idea if he was of great help. While Draco knew exactly where every single book belonged, the former Gryffindor was more than confused and needed to be told where to put them.

When they had finished, Draco locked the door and rolled up his sleeves. Then he sighed. “I love my job, but now I’m really looking forward to that wine that you brought.”

Harry didn’t respond anything. Instead, he looked at Draco’s left arm.

“Do you still have…” he whispered.

“The mark?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“How?”

“It took a while to find a Healer who was able to remove it and willing to treat me. If felt a little like my arm was being chopped of, but I won’t complain since I’m happy it’s gone. There’s still scar, however. Yet I can live with that. I deserve it.”

“You don’t.”

Draco turned around. “It’s kind of you to think that way.”

_“I’m sorry for your loss.”_

_For what felt like hours, they had sat next to each other without talking. Harry had come to the library to calm his mind. The summer holidays had been nerve-wracking as he had thought about Sirius every single days. At the same time, he knew that Voldemort was getting stronger and stronger in the dark and he had no idea what to do about it. Ron and Hermione did their best to distract him, but sometimes Harry just needed some time on his own. But when he had looked for a forgotten place between the abandoned shelfs of ‘Magic in the Stone Age’ and ‘Rune Poetry’, he had found Malfoy, leaning against the wall, his eyes closed._

_They hadn’t been able to talk a lot last year. Thanks to Umbridge and her Inquisitorial Squad, they had to keep their friendship more of a secret than ever before. Just short talks and letters had been exchanged until she had finally left the school. Without wanting to admit, Harry had missed it. He had missed talking to Malfoy who had exposed as a great advisor and trustworthy ally. But most of all, Harry felt at peace around him. Something about the atmosphere around, something in his voice, in the way he chose his words made him feel incredibly calm. So although he had sought to be alone, he was glad that he had found Malfoy. Silently, he had sat down next to him. Raising his head in disapproval, the Slytherin had looked at him with a deadly gaze until he had recognised him and his frown had turned into a weak smile. _

_“How did you…?”_

_“My father.”_

_“He hears about everything, doesn’t he?”_

_Malfoy snorted. “He does. And if he doesn’t, the Dark Lord will hear about it.”_

_Gulping, Harry dared to look at Malfoy’s arm to see if the rumours were true._

_“Want to see it?”_

_“I… Malfoy….”_

_“Please, Potter, stop calling me by my family name? I... I want just one place where I’m more than my inevitable legacy.”_

_“Sure, Mal… Draco.” Harry chuckled despite the pressing atmosphere. “I guess I will need some time to get used to this.”_

_“Thanks.” Draco smiled, but it seemed rather sad. “After all what’ll happen this year, I want you to remember that we were friends, at least at some point in time.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“Forget it.” Draco shook his had and rolled up his left sleeve._

_There it was. It was the first time, Harry was able to examine it in detail. If it wasn’t for the dreadful motive, the blank ink on Draco’s white skin looked actually beautiful. He was even tempted to touch if, already raising his hand, but then he realised what he was doing and pulled back._

_“No, it’s alright. If it’s not touched by a wand, nothing will happen.”_

_Gently and carefully, Harry traced the blank lines. The inked skin stood up a little, being more rough. Draco’s normal skin, however, was soft, without any flaw or blemish._

_“Did it hurt?”_

_“You can’t imagine.”_

_“And why…” Harry hesitated to ask, but he needed to know, “Why did you agree to this?”_

_Draco thought for a while. “It’s not like I had a choice.” He paused. “It’s so ridiculous. When I was younger, all I wanted to do was make my parents proud. I would have done anything. But so many things have happened… I wish it had been different. I wish I would have been more brave. But I’m not you. So all I can do is keeping my head down and try to survive this, no matter what I believe is right.”_

_“Is there… Is there anything I can do for you?” _

_Harry meant it. Looking back on their start, it was absurd to even consider this, but he wanted to help Draco. Because he saw something in him. He didn’t quite knew what it was, but he was certain that he would do all he could to save him._

_“Survive.”_

_“What?”_

_“The only thing you can do for me – for all of us – is to survive this war.”_

_Harry couldn’t say anything. What should he say to this? Both of them knew that he couldn’t promise anything. So instead of answering, he smiled weakly. His hand which had still caressed Draco’s arm wandered down to his hand where it stopped. His palm rested on Draco’s. Harry noticed how much the Slytherin was trembling. He wished he could have done anything, but the only thing he was able to do right now was to let his little finger slide between Draco’s thumb and index._

_After a while, Harry noticed that the Slytherin had stopped trembling and when he turned his head to the side, Draco had closed his eyes. Although most of his muscles relaxed, there was still a hint of trouble in the shadows of his delicate features. The longer he looked at him, Harry had to acknowledge how beautifu…._

_“Harry? Are you here?” Hermione’s whisper reached through the book shelfs._

_Harry got up in a hurry, letting go of Draco’s hand. He threw an apologetic gaze towards the Slytherin who nodded understandingly._

_“Take care of yourself, Po…Harry.” _

_Despite the tone in his voice, that sounded like a farewell, Harry smiled. Because no matter how much emptiness he had felt inside him recently, no matter how shocked he was about what Draco had done, the warmth that filled his chest when he called him by his first time surprised him, yet it felt amazing._

_“You, too, Draco.”_

The next time, Harry stepped into the book shop, it was pretty crowed. It was a rainy Saturday afternoon, so it was quite understandable. Still, Harry had hoped to meet Draco alone. Trying not to draw too much attention, he slipped into an aisle and watched the former Slytherin while pretending to be more than interested in _’50 charms and potions to convince your future mother in law’_.

Looking back to their time at Hogwarts, there was nothing left of the arrogant bully he had pretended to be in school. It seemed like the self he had shown to Harry from time to time – revealing more of himself over the years – was closer to his true character than his common appearance. Harry was somewhat surprised how well he handled all the customers, how precisely he recommended just the perfect book for everyone and how he smiled when a mother, holding her son’s hand, thanked him for pointing out a story to her that her children loved to much, they wanted to hear it every night before going to bed. By the way he danced through the shelfs, moving so skilfully through the shop, carrying piles of books effortlessly, one could see from afar that this shop was his home.

“I really wonder if you’re good at your job. I could feel your eyes on me for quite some time.”

Harry spun around when he heard a hushed voice right behind his ear. Looking up, his gaze met Draco’s who was grinning above him, seemingly pleased with his success to surprise Harry.

“Are you just here to observe me or can I be at you service any other way?”

Finding his voice again, Harry returned Draco’s intense gaze. “What other services do you offer? I hope not something illegal or I would have to arrest you.”

A smirk appeared on Draco’s face, but he didn’t respond anything.

“I’m actually here to return the book I borrowed for Hermione.”

“Oh…” Suddenly, Draco’s expression lowered. “Sure, follow me please.”

They walked to the counter. Harry handed the book over to the Slytherin who searched for the card which Harry had signed a few weeks ago in his file index. When he found it, he filled in today’s date in the ‘returned’ cell and put it back into the book.

“Guess I should thank you for your trust in this shop, though it hasn’t been your order.”

Harry nodded. He didn’t know what to say. He also didn’t want to leave, but he felt like he had to since the next customer was already occupying Draco. It was no use forcing himself onto the former Slytherin who was busy with work. But as he walked toward the door, he felt like leaving would be something like a good-bye.

Without thinking much, he turned around again. “Draco?”

The young man lifted his head and looked at him in surprise. “Want to have dinner later? I’ll get the wine.”

Draco blinked. Once, twice. Then he smiled. “How about a Merlot this time?”

Not only Draco’s kitchen, but also his couch was very comfortable. The living room was decorated in the same colour-scheme as the rest of his apartment. Harry loved the calm atmosphere that was created by the dark grey furniture. Maybe it wasn’t only the surroundings but Draco’s proximity which made him relax so much.

Both holding a glass of wine in their hands, they talked and talked. About their childhood, about things that had happened in Hogwarts. About their hobbies and their jobs. Every time Draco talked about his work, about a certain book he had read or what it had taken to acquire it, his eyes started to glow even stronger than before. It was unusual for Harry to see him that way since his expression had always been either condescending or troubled when they had been in school. Yet now, they were genuinely beautiful.

“You really love your shop, don’t you?” Harry noted after examining Draco for a while.

“Yes.”

“It shows.”

“Hm?”

“You really look happy.”

“Do I?” Draco smiled. “Yes, I guess I’m actually happy here. It’s nice to make your own decisions without having a family to intermeddle into your life and plan everything out for you. But it’s mostly the books that I love. I like to think that their presence, that being surrounded by them has save me from a darker fate.”

Harry nodded. “And what’s your plan for your future? Will you be a book shop owner forever?”

“I don’t know yet. There’s a lot more to this job than just sitting around and recommending books, you know. This job allows me to travel a lot. Book fairs, conventions, house searches and shopping trips. Next week, I’ll leave for Kairo. A colleague of mine offered me some works on magical creatures from the ancient Egypt and I hope that travelling and exploring the country lets me find more treasures.”

“That sounds great,” Harry said, feeling a lump in his throat, “how long…will you be there?”

“I don’t know yet. I guess for a month. Maybe longer.”

“Oh.”

Harry took a sip from his glass. Why did that make him so sad all of a sudden?

“So…will we meet after again? I mean, after you come back,” he asked cautiously, his head turned towards the floor.

For a while, Draco didn’t answer. It made Harry feel uncomfortable and he regretted asking. But when he looked up, Draco smiled. Not broadly or spiteful but soft.

“Why don’t you get a book? I mean lending, not buying. That way, you would have to come back in four weeks and see for yourself.”


End file.
